


ang tanging nais ko ay di nabibili ng pera

by maraanan



Category: Goyo: Ang Batang Heneral (2018), Heneral Luna (2015)
Genre: High School AU, M/M, anger towards ACP/ROTC, eraserheads
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-15
Updated: 2018-08-15
Packaged: 2019-06-27 19:17:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,259
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15691722
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/maraanan/pseuds/maraanan
Summary: Aguinaldo has a crush. Mabini is part of a rag-tag group of high schooler leftists. Aling Dionisia has a sari-sari store. Goyong just wants merits.





	ang tanging nais ko ay di nabibili ng pera

**Author's Note:**

> oo base sa kanta ng eraserheads pabigyan mo na

 

Aguinaldo looks at Antonio. “Sige na?”

Antonio gives him a flat stare. Aguinaldo laughs meekly, not knowing what else to do, and scratches the back of his head. Luna turns to face the blackboard and heaves a deep sigh. He gets out of his seat reluctantly. “Ang ginagawa ko para sa ngalan ng pag-ibig...”

Aguinaldo grins, brimming with joy. “Salamat!” he whispers as he and Luna exchange seats. Much better. Much, much better.

Thank god their TLE teacher doesn’t care enough to be angry about students exchanging seats, because now Aguinaldo has a nicer view of Apolinario Mabini.

Aguinaldo leans his cheek on his palm. He can see Mabini up in the front, taking notes and listening attentively as their teacher drones on and on. Aguinaldo sighs.

Behind him, Luna groans, annoyed.

“Pabigyan mo na,” he hears Isabel tell him. “Crush niya ‘yun e.”

 

 

 

“O, eto na.” His mother hands him a few bills. “May extra ‘yan. Kung gusto mo ng kendi, bumili ka na.”

Aguinaldo groans. “‘Nay, hindi na ako bata.”

“High school ka pa lang.” His mother paps his cheek. “Bata ka pa.”

“‘Nay.”

“O, sige, umalis ka na,” his mother says, “para makaluto na ako. Bumalik ka kaagad, ha?”

“Opo!”

The sari-sari store isn’t too far, and it always has everything you would need. Whenever Aguinaldo’s mother needs someone to go buy something for her, she usually sends out one of Aguinaldo’s older siblings. But all of them are either out or busy crying over homework, so Emilio it is.

“Manang,” Aguinaldo calls out when he reaches the store.

“Ah, Emilio!” says Manan. “‘Musta na yung nanay mo?”

“Maayos lang po,” Aguinaldo says with a smile. He holds out his money. “Pabili po ng suka.”

Manang gives him a bottle of vinegar. Aguinaldo takes it. “Salamat, po -”

Out of the corner of his eye, the front door of the house the store was connected to opened, some guy in a wheelchair comes out and oh no andyan si crush.

Aguinaldo dropped the bottle, eyes wide in surprise. It broke on the sidewalk with a crash, vinegar spilling all over the cement.

“Naku!” Manang cried. “Anyare sa ‘yo, iho? Sayang ‘yan o!”

“S-S-Sori po!” Aguinaldo reddened. Shet. He just embarrassed himself in front of his crush. Minus pogi points ‘yan.

He heard a giggle behind him. Aguinaldo turned to look at him and saw his covering his smile with his hand. His face was pinker than usual. Then Mabini coughed and looked to the side, acting like he never laughed at Aguinaldo at all.

Ang cute.

“Huy!” Manang snaps her fingers in front of him, bringing him back to reality.

Aguinaldo faces her, blinking, mouth still gaping. “Sori na talaga po!”

He runs away, of course.

(When he gets home, his mother asks him for the change, and Aguinaldo realizes that he left it there. He tells her that they were out of vinegar and he spent the rest on Potchi instead. She laughs at him.)

 

 

 

Out of his embarrassment, Aguinaldo tries to avoid Mabini the next day at school. Of course, that doesn’t work.

Mabini approaches him during recess. “Emilio?”

Aguinaldo stops in his tracks. His face goes red right away. He tried going straight to the canteen as soon as the teacher dismissed them, because he knows Mabini rarely goes to the canteen. He barely made it out of the classroom.

(His friends call him a stalker for apparently memorizing Mabini’s schedule. He doesn’t memorize it, he just... notices.)

“...O?” Aguinaldo asks. Ayun. Cool lang.

Mabini holds out a few coins. “Nalimutan mo yung sukli mo kahapon.”

“Ah,” says Aguinaldo. “Ah, o - oo nga.”

“Heto.” Mabini drops the coins into Aguinaldo’s hand.

“Salamat.” His face is still red. “At. Ah. Sori talaga kahapon. Para sa gulo.”

Mabini shook his head. “Okay lang. Aksidente lang naman ‘yan.”

“Ah. Okay. Sori parin.” Aguinaldo pockets the coins. Oh, well. He can’t avoid Mabini, so might as well just roll with it. He scratches the back of his head. “So... anak ka pala ni Manang?”

“Mmm,” says Mabini. “Ngayon mo lang nalaman?”

Aguinaldo nods. “Oo. Malapit lang pala yung bahay mo.”

“Oo nga,” says Mabini. “So kung kailangan mo ng tulong sa homework, nandyan lang ako.”

If face could get any redder, it just did. “Ay, weh? Okay lang sa ‘yo?” O diyos ko o diyos ko.

“Sige. Go lang.” Mabini smiles. At him. O diyos ko lord puso ko.

“Okay. Okay. Ayos.” Aguinaldo laughs shakily. Now this is just getting plain embarrassing. He should leave. He should really leave. Right now.

Mabini’s smile fades. He looks at him steadily. “Okay ka lang, Emilio?”

“Ah... ” Mabini’s staring at him as in right at him and okay di na niya ma-take all he needed was to buy vinegar for his mom yesterday, he didn’t need this. “Maykailangankopalanggawinbye.”

“Emil -” Mabini says, looking startled. But Aguinaldo’s already run off. Again.

 

 

 

“So…” says Goyong. “Pumunta ka rito para humingi ng pogi tips?”

“...Oo?” Aguinaldo says, unsure. He didn’t really know who else to ask. He scratches the back of his head. He feels out of place here in Sophomore territory.

Goyong grins. “Okay. Sige. And what do I get in return, Mr. Wing Commander?”

Aguinaldo groans internally. Of course. “One merit.”

“Isa lang?” says Goyong. “Kung ganun, edi…” Goyong turns away to leave.

Aguinaldo grabs his arm. Goyong looks at him expectantly. Aguinaldo sighs. “Five merits.”

Goyong raises an eyebrow. Gago.

(Images of Mabini in his memory come to him, of him giggling at him when he dropped the vinegar, of him smiling at him yesterday outside the classroom.

Tangina. Bahala na. Bahala na si Batman.)

“Seven merits,” Aguinaldo says, staring at Goyong, daring him to ask for anything higher.

“Twenty!” says Goyong.

“Seven. Lang. All or nothing.”

Goyong looks at him. “Fine. Sige nga.”

Aguinaldo lets go of his arm. Finally, god.

Goyong leans on the wall behind him. “So, tell me. Sino ba yung crush mo?”

“Hindi mo alam?” says Aguinaldo. “Alam na ng lahat, e, yung buong seksyon ko, kilala nila - liban sa kanya…”

“Baka kasi ang halata mo,” Goyong says, dryly. “O, sino nga?”

“Kilala mo ba si Apolinario Mabini?”

Goyong snorts. “Mabini? Type mo si Mabini?”

“Ano na ngayon? Matalino siya, at mabait, at, at yung ngiti niya -”

Goyong waves his hand. “Okay, whatever. Ibig ko sabihin, ito si Apolinario ‘acads bago anything’ Mabini. Ha! Good luck dyan, pre.”

Aguinaldo frowns. “Kaya nga humihingi ako ng tulong, e.”

Goyong sighs. “Oo nga, tutulungan kita. Mukhang nahulog ka na talaga dito, e.”

Aguinaldo hears the bell ring. People start going back to their classrooms. “Ah, time na ata. Alis na ako. Salamat, Goyong! Salamat talaga!”

“Oo. Bye,” says Goyong. Aguinaldo leaves. “Hay. Ang ginagawa ko para sa ngalan ng pag-ibig.”

 

 

 

 **AGUINALDO:** Gagawin ko ba talaga to?  
**GOYONG:** Kaya mo yannnn.  
**GOYONG:** [Matagumpay na Business Fish sticker.]  
**AGUINALDO:** E medyo weird naman kung pupunta lang ako bigla sa bahay niya.  
**GOYONG** : Ininvite ka niya nga diba!!!  
**GOYONG:** :/

 

 

 

Aguinaldo sighs. He locks his phone and puts it away in his pocket before grabbing his notes and textbook and stuffing them in his bag.

“Nay!” he calls out as he goes down the stairs. “Aalis muna ako!”

His mother pokes her head out of the kitchen. “At saan ka pupunta?”

“Kaklase ko lang po. Ah… hindi ko gets yung lesson. Test na bukas. Yung kaklase ko, siya pala yung anak ni Manang sa malapit na tindahan. Hihingi lang ako ng tulong.”

“Hindi ba pwedeng itanong mo nalang siya sa Facebook?”

“E… kasi po… hindi pa kami friends, tapos mukhang hindi siya palaging online kaya hindi niya pa sinasagot yung request ko.” He just lied to his mom. They totally are friends on Facebook. Aguinaldo sent him a request the moment he found his account, which was months ago, in June.

“Ah. Sige. Mag-ingat ka, anak.”

“Opo, Nay.” He leaves.

He gets to Mabini’s house shortly. Manang spots him from the store. “Ah, hello, iho. Ano, sasayangin mo nanaman ang suka ko?”

Aguinaldo flushes. “Sori na talaga po dun. Hindi ko sinadya.”

Manang laughs. “Nagbibiro lang ako, iho, okay lang. Anong kailangan mo ngayon?”

“Actually, po,” he says, “nandun ba po si Apolinario? Sabi niya kasi, ok lang kung pumunta ako dito upang humingi ng tulong sa school, kaya…”

“Ah, ganun? Sige! Teka, hintay ka lang muna dito.” Manang gets up and leaves, going inside the house. Aguinaldo does as he’s told, and wait patiently where he is.

The front door of the house opens, and Aguinaldo turns, startled. “Halika dito, iho!” says Manang, and beckons him inside. Aguinaldo follows.

Their house is very simple, and not very big. Their couch looks old and patched up, the TV is tiny and outdated, and it’s nothing like Aguinaldo’s own house, which is bigger and fancy. He knows that Mabini, a scholarship student, isn’t as rich as his classmates.

“Halika, iho. Pole!” Manang cries out, as she goes into the hallway. Aguinaldo follows her. Manang knocks on one of the rooms. “Pole, anak, may bisita ka.”

“Sige po, ma,” they hear from inside the room. Manang opens the door.

Mabini’s room is small. He’s on his bed, a book spread open on top of his legs. “Ah, Emilio, hello,” he says, closing his book. “O, kailangan mo na ng tutor?”

Emilio hides his smile. “Opo sir.”

 

 

 

“Ags!” Goyong leaps upon Aguinaldo from behind, hanging an arm over his shoulders. “O, musta yung study date ninyo?” He wiggles his brows.

Aguinaldo glares. “Mag-greet ka nga muna.”

Goyong sighs, and goes into attention. “Sir, afternoon, sir!” he says, very snappy. “Happy na po? O sige na, kwento ka na.”

(“So…” Aguinaldo had said, biting his lip. Play dumb, play dumb. “Magiging carry one na ‘to?”

It was the stupidest thing he had ever said, yet Mabini didn’t laugh at him. “Hindi. Ganito yan.” He moved closer to Aguinaldo - yes! - and wrote the correct formula.

Aguinaldo held his breath, openly staring at Mabini, who was too busy with the math to notice. How he wished he didn’t need excuses. How he wished he could have this all the time.)

Aguinaldo shakes his head, and hopes his face isn’t as hot as he feels it is. “Ayoko nga,” and he strides away from Goyong, leaving him behind.

When he takes a turn in the hallway he finds Mabini outside their classroom. He’s not in ACP uniform like the rest of their batchmates; one can’t exactly do military exercises whilst in a wheelchair. Aguinaldo thought it a waste that Mabini never got to see him all cool and commanding as the top officer, but he also would never want to use his Wing Commander voice on his crush. That would be just mean.

Mabini looks up and notices him. He gives a small wave. Ang cute!

“Apolinario,” Aguinaldo says, moving towards him. “Maraming salamat ulit sa -”

“Ap.” Mabini holds up his palm. “‘Wag mo na akong tawaging ‘Apolinario’. Ang haba-haba ng pangalan. Pole nalang.”

Nicknames stage na sila! Aguinaldo bites his lip to hide his grin. “Ah, okay. Kung ganun… Miong na lang ang tawag mo sa’kin.”

“Sige, Miong,” Mabini says. At the mention of his nickname from Pole’s lips, Aguinaldo’s heart does flips in his chest.

Two students in ACP uniform pass by. “Sir, afternoon, sir!” they shout in unison. Aguinaldo nods at them.

“Share ko lang,” Mabini says, “pero ang laki ng galit ko sa ACP.”

Paranoia shoots through Aguinaldo. Does that anger extend to him and his position? “Sorry, anong meron?”

“Well.” Mabini sits back in his wheelchair, folding his hands on his lap. Oh, dear, this is getting serious. Aguinaldo has heard stories of Mabini absolutely crushing it on the debate team, but he’s never got to experience it firsthand. “First of all, pekeng disiplina at nasyonalismo ang dinedevelop ng ACP at ROTC. Hindi ito tunay kasi fear o pananakot ang ginagamit bilang method of teaching. ‘Pag hindi ka susunod, may parusa. Usually pisikal pa naman ‘to. Tama ba?”

Aguinaldo gulped. Mabini was so, so attractive when he was in debate mode, even if it was Aguinaldo that was getting roasted. “Tama.”

“Secondly, ayoko talaga ang glorification ng militar. Alam mo naman ang ginagawa nila, diba? Binabasa mo ang mga balita?”

Aguinaldo stares, guilt-laden. “Ah…”

Mabini does not show any annoyance to his ignorance. “Dahil sa kanila, nawawalan ng tahanan ang mga Lumad. Nafoforce silang mag-bakwit o evacuate dahil sa di mahustisyang at matuwirang militar.”

“Sorry,” Aguinaldo says. “Hindi ko alam.”

Mabini gives him the smallest of smiles. “Okay lang. Gusto mong pumunta sa mga miting namin minsan?”

Aguinaldo blinks. “Miting? Ng debate?”

Mabini shakes his head. “Hindi. Puro liberal sila diyan. Ibang organisasyon ang sinasabi ko.”

“Ah…” Aguinaldo says. “Okay.”

Mabini brightens up. Aguinaldo’s heart does double, triple flips. “Okay ka? Samahan mo ako mamaya?”

“Sige, sige,” Aguinaldo says.

“Sige,” Mabini says, smiling. The bell rings. “Ah, malapit na mag-time. Mamaya na, Miong.” He wheels himself into the classroom.

 

 

 

Aguinaldo runs up to Goyong. “Goyong! Goyong, magdedate na kami!”

“Uuuy!” Goyong says, smirking. “Lucky si gago! Saan kayo magdedate?”

“Sa…” Aguinaldo scratches his head. “Sa miting niya.”

Goyong gives him a dead look. “Hindi ‘yan date, bobo.”

“Ewan ko!” Aguinaldo says. “Basta sasamahin ko siya mamaya.”

“Kailan?” Goyong asks.

Behind him, Aguinaldo sees Mabini wheel out of the classroom. “Ngayon na,” he says, and pushes Goyo aside to talk to Mabini.

Mabini looked up to him. Aguinaldo wished he would smile. “Ready ka na?”

Aguinaldo nodded.

He had no idea what he was getting into.


End file.
